Hans Venhuizen: Game Urbanism

Manual for Cultural Spatial Planning

Published by Valiz Book and Cultural ProjectsEdited by Hans Venhuizen. Text by Charles Landry, Francien van Westrenen.

Across Europe, cities are rapidly changing. How to account for the requirements of culture and humanity amid urban planners' brisk intentions? Hans Venhuizen is a specialist in what he calls culture-based planning, which takes existing culture--architecture, art and the contemporary culture of an area's inhabitants--as the point of departure for planning efforts. Venhuizen is well known for his use of ingenious large-scale social games to identify the culture and explore the interests at stake: one such game, called "Life, the Game," involved 20 participants in reenacting the entire life cycle. Game Urbanism: Handbook of Processes of Spatial Change presents Venhuizen's working practices and shows how they can be applied by anybody (citizens, planners, artists, architects, local authorities, administrators) working in spatial planning, architecture, community arts or other creative industries. Charles Landry, author of the highly influential The Creative City (2000) and The Art of City Making (2006), contributes an introduction.

Published by Valiz Book and Cultural Projects.Edited by Hans Venhuizen. Text by Charles Landry, Francien van Westrenen.

Across Europe, cities are rapidly changing. How to account for the requirements of culture and humanity amid urban planners' brisk intentions? Hans Venhuizen is a specialist in what he calls culture-based planning, which takes existing culture--architecture, art and the contemporary culture of an area's inhabitants--as the point of departure for planning efforts. Venhuizen is well known for his use of ingenious large-scale social games to identify the culture and explore the interests at stake: one such game, called "Life, the Game," involved 20 participants in reenacting the entire life cycle. Game Urbanism: Handbook of Processes of Spatial Change presents Venhuizen's working practices and shows how they can be applied by anybody (citizens, planners, artists, architects, local authorities, administrators) working in spatial planning, architecture, community arts or other creative industries. Charles Landry, author of the highly influential The Creative City (2000) and The Art of City Making (2006), contributes an introduction.